[amsat-bb] Re: Phase 3

[R Oler]

While anything is possible I will be very surprised (pleasntly) if there is another amateur radio satellite with a liquid propulsion system that is managed by any amateur group that gets a ride into any sort of HEO transfer orbit.Ion engines might be different but after AO-40 and its propulsion issues the days of amateurs playing with rocket engines on commercial flights I suspect is over.  

Robert WB5MZO and soon S2 something  

Sent from my iPad

> On Sep 20, 2013, at 11:09 PM, "John Stephensen" <kd6ozh at comcast.net> wrote:
> 
> 
> The problem is that the government is no longer paying for those expenses as
> they did in the past. The $8,000,000 is the incremental cost not the cost of the
> entire launch.
> 
> 73,
> 
> John
> KD6OZH
> 
>> ----- Original Message ----- From: "Rob" <pabutusa at gmail.com>
>> To: <amsat-bb at amsat.org>
>> Sent: Friday, September 20, 2013 15:54 UTC
>> Subject: [amsat-bb] Re: Phase 3
>> 
>> 
>>> I don't think we'll ever be in a position to "buy" a launch the most we
>>> will ever be able to do  is hope to piggy-back with a paying customer and
>>> possibly contribute to "expenses."
>>> 
>>> Maybe having a payload "on the shelf ready" isn't such a bad plan .... if a
>>> "short window of opportunity" were to open up ... and we had nothing ready
>>> that would be an opportunity lost. Maybe we should have various payloads
>>> sitting on the shelf (cube, micro, mini, P3) just in case.
>>> 
>>> Piggy-back rides is how Amateur Radio Satellites got their start .... it's
>>> the only way to continue.
>>> 
>>> --> Rob, KA2PBT
>>> 
>>> 
>>>> On Fri, Sep 20, 2013 at 3:27 PM, John Stephensen <kd6ozh at comcast.net> wrote:
>>>> 
>>>> AMSAT-DL was the lead for phase 3 because they were able to get
>>>> almost-free launches from ESA. However, ESA terminated that policy 10 years
>>>> ago and AMSAT-DL has been trying to get government funding through their
>>>> Mars program. That was rejected a year or two ago. Private launch companies
>>>> are asking for $8,000,000..The world-wide fund raising by AMSAT-DL,
>>>> AMSAT-UK, AMSAT-NA, AMSAT-Japan, ARRL and RSGB for each of the phase 3
>>>> launches acheived less than 10% of what is now required for a launch.
>>>> 
>>>> In the past, a launch opportunity was identified by ESA and then a
>>>> satellite was built by AMSAT. P3E did the reverse -- building a satellite
>>>> and hoping for a launch. I brought up AMSAT-DL because someone was
>>>> complaining that AMSAT-NA was leading them on about HEO possibilities. They
>>>> should review videos of the AMSAT-DL presentations at the annual AMSAT-UK
>>>> meetings. AMSAT-NA has been much more realistic.
>>>> 
>>>> 73,
>>>> 
>>>> John
>>>> KD6OZH
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